Welcome Home
by rosiemontgomery1
Summary: Ed comes back from the West and Winry is beside herself with happiness. Only something seems to be bothering him... This one-shot is set after the end of Brotherhood/ chapter 108 of the manga.


**This Edwin one-shot is a late birthday gift to my friend ecmwrites. Since she's made me so happy with her stories, I figured it was the least I could do, give a little back to her. This is my first fanfic, and I am open to any suggestions/comments you guys might have. Please review, it'll make me so happy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own FMA. **

The young mechanic's ears perked at the sound of a pair of boots walking up the steps of the front porch. The sound of the footsteps was uneven, one step sounded firm and grounded, while the other gave out a tinny, hollow sound. Winry had long ago memorized the distinct sound, and to her, it could mean only one thing.

She set down the piece of automail she had been working on, raised herself from her work table and, trying to ignore her fast beating heart, walked slowly toward the front door and opened it. And there he was—tanned by weeks of travel and looking more handsome than ever. "Hey, Winry," he said, his smile widening as he took in sight of her. "I'm back."

Yes, he was. After all these months, Edward Elric had returned. Holding back tears of joy, Winry ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in his scent. He smelled of sun and dust and faraway lands. How she had missed him. The day at the train station, where she had promised to give him half her life (well, 85%, but who's counting) seemed so far away now, yet it had been only a few months ago.

Suddenly, Ed's back grew tense under her touch, and she hesitantly let go. She looked up to him with a questioning glance and noticed that he was avoiding her gaze. Instead, his eyes wandered around, as if he was looking for something. His childhood friend could tell, however, that he was doing it just to avoid looking at her. "Ed?" she asked, concerned. "Is something wrong?" At her inquiry, Ed fixed his gaze on her for a second. Winry could see a flush of red spreading over the bridge of his nose. When their eyes met, he just blushed even harder and turned his golden eyes downwards, to his remaining automail leg. _Wait a minute…_

"Winry," murmured Ed nervously, his golden eyes still averted from hers, "t-there was this accident, yes? And I kinda damaged your auto— "

"What did you do to my precious piece of art, you alchemy freak?!" Winry felt the anger rising inside her. She couldn't believe him! Just the other day when he had called he'd said it was working fine! And to tell her just like that, first thing after he got back! Was she really more to him than just his mechanic?

Just as the furious blond raised her wrench (which she had somehow held in her right hand this whole time) to clunk the former alchemist on the head, she got the answer to her question. To her complete astonishment, Ed took hold of her raised right wrist with his left hand, placed his right hand in the nape of her neck, and pulled her into a kiss. It was short, but it made Winry's head spin and her heart almost jump out of her chest. A million thoughts ran through her head, before finally settling on a simple fact: Edward's lips were much softer than she'd imagined.

A second later, the golden-haired boy broke the sudden contact he'd made with her and looked deep into her eyes for a second before releasing his grip on her and scanning the floorboards again. Then he rubbed the back of his neck nervously with a sheepish smile on his face. "I lied, sorry. But I just couldn't…" He gulped, turning an even deeper shade of crimson, "I just couldn't k-kiss you if the air was all mushy." He lifted up his eyes to hers for a moment before dropping them once more. "But don't worry , nothing's happened to your automail. It's in perfect condition."

Winry just stared at him, stunned, her mouth slightly open. This…this _jerk_. She had been waiting months for him, and that…that was how he'd decided to give her her first kiss. She knew she ought to be angry at him, but seeing the way he was twiddling his thumbs and bowing his head, cheeks bright pink from embarrassment, she felt amusement and affection well up inside her instead.

Hurriedly, the girl cleared her throat and turned her back to him so he couldn't see the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, and pretended to start walking back inside. "I'm glad, then", she stated nonchalantly, waving her hand as if to brush off his comment, "'cause we don't keep spares for midgets around here anymore." She glanced out of the corner of her eye at him and watched the blood rush to his face as he screamed in rage. "What are you talking about, you junkie?! I'm taller than you are—"

Suddenly Edward Elric's protests were stopped midway by the "junkie", who turned back around in a whirl and threw herself at him, pressing her mouth hard against his. His eyes widened in surprise, but they fluttered close as their kiss deepened. He wrapped his hands around her waist and drew her close once more. They stayed like that for a few seconds, and then Winry broke the kiss and smirked at him. "Sorry. Seems like I couldn't do it either." Her smirk softened into a smile, and resting her forehead on his, she whispered tenderly "Welcome home, you idiot."


End file.
